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Genghis Khan

founder and first emperor of the Mongol Empire

At military exercises I am always in front, and in time of battle am never behind. In the space of seven years I have succeeded in accomplishing a great work, and uniting the whole world in one empire.

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O people, know that you have committed great sins, and that the great ones among you have committed these sins. If you ask me what proof I have for these words, I say it is because I am the punishment of God. If you had not committed great sins, God would not have sent a punishment like me upon you.

As quoted in Ta'Rikh-i-Jahan Gusha [History of the World Conqueror] by 'Ala-ad-Din 'Ata-Malik Juvaini (ca. 1252-1260), translated by J.A. Boyle (1958), p. 105

Be of one mind and one faith, that you may conquer your enemies and lead long and happy lives.

As quoted in The Mongol Empire : Its Rise and Legacy (1940) by Michael Prawdin, p. 224

In the space of seven years I have succeeded in accomplishing a great work and uniting the whole world in one Empire.

As quoted in The Tyrants : 2500 Years of Absolute Power and Corruption (2006) by Clive Foss, p. 55 ISBN 1905204965

If one must drink, then let one drink thrice a month, for more is bad. If one gets drunk twice a month, it is better; if one gets drunk once a month, that is better still; and if one doesn't drink at all, that is the best of all.

As given in Rashid al-Din's Compendium of Chronicles (Jami' al-tawarikh) ([1]) (Can find a translated version on google books: [2])

The wholesale massacre by systematised processes of six or seven millions of men, women, and children in the German execution camps exceeds in horror the rough-and-ready butcheries of Genghis Khan, and in scale reduces them to pigmy proportions. Deliberate extermination of whole populations was contemplated and pursued by both Germany and Russia in the Eastern war. . . .

The greatest joy for a man is to defeat his enemies, to drive them before him, to take from them all they possess, to see those they love in tears, to ride their horses, and to hold their wives and daughters in his arms.

As quoted in Genghis Khan & the Mongols (1973) by Michael Gibson, p. 3; this has been disputed with the statement that it was "not recorded until a century after his death and is surprisingly out of character." *

Lamb,Harlod GENGHIS KAHN: THE EMPEROR OF ALL MEN page 112 March,1928 "Nay," responded the Khan, "to crush your enemies, to see them fall at your feet_to take their horses and goods and hear the lamentation of their women. That is best."

The real greatest pleasure of men is to repress rebels and defeat enemies, to exterminate them and grab everything they have; to see their married women crying, to ride on their steeds with smooth backs, to treat their beautiful queens and concubines as pajamas and pillows, to stare and kiss their rose-colored faces and to suck their sweet lips of nipple-colored.